Washington – White House Chief of Staff Cedric Richmond said Sunday that President Biden is willing to sit down with a group of Republican senators who are requesting an appointment together with the president to discuss a bipartisan emergency aid bill for coronavirus.
“The president said in his inaugural address that he wants to work with both sides to help the American people,” Richmond said in an interview with Face the Nation. What we know about President Biden is that it’s never about him, it’s always about the people. So yes, he is very willing to meet with anyone to advance the agenda. “
A group of 10 Republican senators sent a letter to Mr Biden on Sunday, asking him to meet with him to discuss a bipartisan coronavirus relief framework, which he is expected to reveal on Monday. The plan, senators said, includes $ 160 billion for the development and distribution of vaccines, testing and tracking contacts, and the production of personal protective equipment. It also includes $ 4 billion in behavioral health and substance abuse services, as well as targeted financial assistance for unemployed Americans and another round of direct payments to individuals earning up to $ 50,000 annually.
The president introduced his own $ 1.9 trillion aid package, which is the White House ‘s main legislative priority. But with the Senate equally divided between the parties, 10 Republicans should join Democrats to support the measure so that it goes through the regular legislative process. GOP senators are preventing the cost from Mr Biden’s plan, as well as the inclusion of provisions such as an increase in the federal minimum wage to $ 15 per hour.
Democratic leaders in Congress are taking the first steps this week to continue a maneuver called budget reconciliation, which would allow Mr Biden’s plan to pass without Republican support.
Richmond said the president’s proposal includes provisions that have support from most Americans, including $ 1,400 in direct payments to individuals, support for small businesses and money to reopen schools.
“It’s about the seriousness of the goal, it’s about fulfilling the moment, and this crisis is enormous, and our response to it is responding to this challenge,” he said. “When you start talking about $ 1,400 to individuals, another $ 160 million, so we can safely open schools, a few hundred million dollars to make sure we help small businesses that are struggling, that’s what American people want. to see ”.
Richmond would not say whether Mr Biden would be willing to drop measures in his package, such as a minimum wage increase, and have independent votes on those provisions, saying “we will not negotiate on television”. However, he noted that the federal minimum wage has risen in past crises, both under Republican and Democratic administrations.
“Other people want to argue the process. We want to argue the goal of advancing this country,” he said. “And President Biden is very clear and he said it in his inaugural speech, we are facing deep challenges and we will meet the moment and we will not leave anyone behind.”
Prior to joining the White House, Richmond was a Louisiana congressman and was among U.S. Chapter lawmakers on January 6, during the violent riots of a pro-Trump mob. Following the attack on the Chapter, parliamentarians were given the green light to use their congressional allowances for additional security measures. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday that “the enemy is in the House of Representatives,” a reference to some Republicans who have expressed a desire to bring weapons to the floor of the House or have tried to do so.
Reflecting on his time in Congress, Richmond said he believes the political landscape has changed.
“I think we’re in a different state than we’ve been so far, members who don’t want to face reality, members who encourage conspiracy theories and things like that,” he said. “But the real enemy inside is the dysfunction of the Republican Party, which does not want to face the facts, which does not want to put the American people first.”
Richmond said the challenge Congress faces is “bringing people together.”
“That means Republicans are abandoning the division that has defined them for the past few years under the former president and coming to the table,” he said. “All we ask is those people who are there, throwing their backs, to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads and clothes on the back of their child, come with us to help them. stop arguing about election fraud that we know never existed. And so the enemy inside is the inability of the people to acknowledge the facts and unite to help the American people. “